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New Jersey – Dan checks in from the snowy Garden State with some post games notes and nuggets from the Jets-Raiders game . . .
The Raiders were playing this game without the top three tailbacks on their depth chart – Darren McFadden, Rashad Jennings and Jeremy Stewart. They were all sidelined with injuries.
I don’t know if I’ve ever covered a game before where a team had EVERY player out at a certain position. Those are the only tailbacks they have on the roster.
So the Raiders started their fullback Marcel Reece at tailback, and he did a pretty good job, including a 63-yard touchdown run.
He finished with 123 yards on 19 carries.
While Reece deserves credit, the usually dominant defensive line was okay today, but not great.
Kind of like the second half against Miami.
Sheldon Richardson was very quiet today with two tackles.
Mo Wilkerson also had just two tackles. I think his wrist injury is impacting his play a little. He’s playing well, but he’s usually so great with his hands, so I think a wrist injury can impact his ability to shed blockers to a certain degree . . .
The NFL really is a game of inches, and the inches went in the Jets’ favor today. That had not been the case in some of the recent losses.
The Jets are really lucky Geno Smith’s 25-yard touchdown pass to Jeremy Kerley wasn’t picked off.
Somebody really messed up, because Santonio Holmes was basically in the same spot, and because the Jets had two receivers in the same small area, there were a myriad of defensive backs around as well.
Jets have been so close to blocking so many punts this year – inches away over and over, and Antonio Allen got one today and he recovered it for a touchdown.
The Jets also got a pick in the red zone by Ed Reed due to a miscommunication between Matt McGloin and wide receiver Andre Holmes.
The point is, the Jets finally had a game inches work out for them today, after not getting those kind of breaks the last three weeks . . .
Greg Salas went to the X-Ray room at the stadium after game. Not sure what the injury was . . .
John Idzik was at the game today.
His father, also John Idzik, passed away on Tuesday. He unfortunately had Alzheimer’s Disease.
Reporters knew about about the passing on Tuesday, but were asked not to report it until they issued an official release, which happened yesterday.
Some people wondered if the Daily News was out of line for a column ripping Idzik for the job he’s done this year as Jets GM, shortly after the team announced the passing of his father.
But the writer felt that since the passing happened early in the week, he gave it some distance.
The fact that the public announcement came within hours of the column being published, made the writer seem insensitive.
I guess that’s for the public to decide . . .
I think the Raiders have struck gold with Matt McGloin.
Remember, we are talking about a rookie free agent quarterback starting as a rookie. That is rare.
His pocket presence is outstanding – feeling the pressure and moving around.
He also reads defenses remarkably well for a rookie (except for that one bad pick in the red zone). He’s also very accurate.
Keep in mind – his two starting receivers today, Andre Holmes and Rod Streater, came into the league as undrafted free agents.
I think the Raider have found a quarterback . . .
